Seal services for securing electronic documents

eSeal boosts digitalization

Electronic seals – eSeals for short – ensure the origin of documents and protect against any unnoticed subsequent changes. eSeals are always issued to a legal entity, i.e., a public authority, an organization or company. The eSeal is much like traditional company stamp or official seal but in digital form. An eSeal shows the recipient of a digital document the institution that issued the document and that the document is genuine, i.e., unaltered.

In public administration, using eSeals can help to improve electronic services and save time thanks to digital document dispatch. This means that notices no longer have to be in written form, but can be sealed and transmitted electronically. The documents are then electronically archived, ensuring the origin of the document. When important government documents, such as certificates, are issued, eSeals prevent fraud.
 

Qualified Seal Card, Remote Seal-Me Service and Qualified Seal ID

D-Trust offers three seal solutions: the qualified seal card, the qualified remote seal service and the advanced digital seal (Qualified Seal ID). All sealing services satisfy the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation and are legally valid in their application. The qualified certificates used for the sealing services can be verified against the EU Trusted List.

The qualified seal card is a smart card and can be used wherever a qualified application is required to ensure the authenticity and integrity of a document, such as in e-tendering or for substitute scanning in accordance with “Technical Guideline 03138 Substitute Scanning” (TR RESISCAN) of the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamts für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI). The remote seal service also creates a qualified electronic seal, albeit only virtually. As an alternative to the seal card, the seal service ensures the origin and integrity – that is, the authenticity – of digital documents in the same way, especially for mass applications. The difference between the two applications lies in where the keys for creating the seals are stored. With the remote seal, the key is secured centrally in the D-Trust computer centre, not on a smart card as with the seal card.

The Qualified Seal ID is based on a qualified certificate and, as a soft token, does not require a card reader or middleware. The cryptographic keys are stored on a self-selected memory, such as a company or government agency server. The advanced seals generated by the soft token can be used whenever a qualified seal is not required, such as for confirming postal items or participation in events.

Our sealing services in comparison

All D-Trust sealing services offer security in the distribution and use of electronic documents based on qualified certificates. Some procedures require the use of qualified electronic seals. In many other procedures, advanced electronic seals provide security for users and senders, who are then free to choose the sealing solution without formal regulations. Compare the differences:

Do you have questions about our seal services? We will be pleased to advise you.